#I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum

[capnhanbers]

you're a bitter kind

i love you so

(from chapter 141, more words under cut)

I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG...i've been lost in the gamer zone, but also this has been one of the absolute hardest chapters to write so far, because i took a difficult structure (dives) and made it even more difficult by combining it with action!!! it took a lot of thought and tweaking to make it work, from a technical and conceptual standpoint.

the only constant throughout it all has been that song. Tenenbaum by the paper kites. it's one of the oldest "kiddo" songs and it completely drove me through this chapter and this art. call them radiant, call them mother's eyes...... don my clothing robes of ancient white..... like this is the song they share with az, just like Nothing Arrived by the Villagers is the song they share with frisk.

i hope it comes together for you readers like it SOMEHOW, IMPOSSIBLY, came together for me!!! these scenes were years in the making!!!

[artdcnaldson]

Has reader ever just had a "i have to get out" moment in the changeover universe?

Like art is trying to talk to her after sex and shes just staring at the wall re thinking her decisions.

They are very toxic and i know the reader has feelings for them so i think art would have been very smothering ir clingy if reader made any atempts at going out with another circle of friends and distancing herself

(im sorry i over analyse many situations 😭)

Anon… i love u <3 I love this messy main character bc i too would throw away my scruples for this man.

Rating: M

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: Toxic situationship, manipulation kinda, mild angst

Summary: You say something you shouldn’t. It messes up the fucked up equilibrium that you and Art had found in whatever you could call the relationship you had together.

FEBRUARY 2007

For Valentine’s Day, you got Art a teddy bear and a box of chocolates. He got you nothing. He wasn’t your boyfriend, so you didn’t know why you were upset about it, but you were. It stung like a fresh wound, one you could never just let be.

The two of you fucked, because that’s what you always did. The feeling of his mouth on yours, warm and tasting of mint, almost made you forgive him for not getting you anything. He called you beautiful, let his hands trace your body reverently, made you cum once, twice before he pulled you into his lap and let you sink onto him.

His forehead was against yours, breath coming in pants as you rode him, bodies pressed so close it almost felt like making love. Maybe that’s why you said it— the words tumbling out like a prayer.

I love you, Art.

He was tense, for a moment, brows furrowed slightly, before he kissed you and laid you onto your back. He pulled another orgasm from an impossible place within you, one you didn’t know existed. He came, messy on your thighs, and rolled over onto his back.

It was quiet, and you felt so far away from him. Your fingers brushed against his hand, testing, but he pulled them away and stood to redress. It was so quiet that you could hear blood pumping in your ears, like an ocean.

”You shouldn’t say stuff like that,” was what he finally said.

Your lip wobbled, just slightly. And then tears pooled on your lashline. “Sorry,” you said weakly.

“It’s fine.” But you had a sinking suspicion that you’d really fucked up. He handed you a towel, and you cleaned yourself up as best as you could while fighting frustrated tears.

”Are you leaving?” You asked. He was standing in between yours and your roommate’s bed, like he hadn’t quite decided yet. You pulled on a tee shirt and underwear and gave him a pathetic, pleading expression. ”Don’t leave, please. I didn’t mean it. We can watch a movie.”

He acquiesced, and let you cling to his side pathetically after you pulled out a portable DVD player. You split a pair of headphones and watched The Royal Tenenbaums.

Halfway through the movie, clarity hit like a lightning strike. Or maybe it was more like a sinking feeling of dread— of being neck deep in quicksand before you realize you should be crawling out.

You couldn’t keep doing this. Because Art was a dream, really. Handsome, and talented, and smarter than you’d expected him to be. And he was so sweet, when he didn’t realize that he should’ve been discouraging your affection. Or maybe he liked it, but only when it was quiet and he didn’t have to acknowledge that what he was doing was wrong.

Maybe it wasn’t wrong and it was all your own fault for wanting someone who made it clear they weren’t emotionally available. Maybe you were pressuring him into something he didn’t want and it was all unfair to him too.

It didn’t matter. It was fucking killing you.

When the movie ended, he stretched and said he’d see you in class. You nodded, smiling the sad smile of a dog unknowingly being left at the pound.

Once the sadness faded, it was replaced with a molten resentment, an anger at him and yourself over your time being wasted. He still sat next to you in class, sneaking peeks of your notes, but you ignored him as best as you could. Days passed, then a week. You started to feel human again.

A couple weekends later, you ignored the text he sent asking for you to join him at a mixer the tennis team was planning on crashing. You ignored the follow up too.

You wound up at a party on the opposite end of campus with a few girls from the service org you were in. You flirted with a new guy, felt like maybe you were worth more than a casual fuck buddy.

So the sight of him sitting at your door when you finally stumbled home was the last thing you wanted to see. All sad, slumped against your door.

He scrambled to stand, expression filled with longing. “Don’t be mad at me,” he pleaded. “I missed you so fucking bad these past few weeks. Felt like I was going crazy.”

Your heart skipped, and hammered against your ribs. You wanted to reach out and kiss that sad, longing expression off his face. You wanted to tell him to leave. It was all very confusing.

“Don’t say that, Art, please,” you said weakly, lips turning down into a frown. You tried to sidestep him, to get the keys into the door, but he pulled you against his chest.

He smelled so nice— like cologne and cinnamon gum. You gave a pathetic sigh at the warmth of him, wrapped all around you. “I missed you,” he repeated. “It’s like a part of me has been missing. I wanted to talk to you so badly, to kiss you, to watch boring movies with you.”

Annoyance and longing bubbled hot in the pit of your stomach, you had to force yourself to push him away. “You just missed having a cheerleader you could fuck whenever you felt like it.”

He frowned. “That’s not true.”

”What’s my major? What’s my favorite place on campus?” He swallowed hard, exhaling sharply through his nose. “What’s my favorite movie?”

“How would I know that?” He asked, resignation flat on his features.

You rolled your eyes. “Because I tell you about it all the time. Because I’ve taken you there. Because I made you watch it. Twice.” You finally got into your room. When you didn’t slam the door, you realized that you were aching for him to follow. You wanted him to be near you, even if you were seething.

When you turned to face him, you hated that even though you were incredibly mad, you still wanted him to just prove you wrong. To convince you that you were being crazy and he was innocent and the only problem was you being a weirdo about your feelings.

God, he was so pretty. And he looked so sad.

“I’ll try to be better,” he said. “I’ll take you on dates, and buy you flowers, and give you what you deserve.”

But you’ll never be his girlfriend. You knew it, deep down. Even as you caved and gave a sweet, sad little nod. He was across the room, holding you against his chest as you felt annoying tears slipping down your cheeks. Tears of relief, of frustration, of resignation.

“I’m not Tashi,” you said when he pressed his lips to the crown of your skull. It was annoying that he had the power to quell all of your uncomfortable emotions with a single romantic gesture. He pulled back and met your gaze, and you softened. “I know she’s always been your first pick, and I don’t blame you, but I’m not ever going to be her, if that’s what you’re waiting on.”

Something passed over his expression, briefly. “I know you’re not.” It was more of a lament than it was an attempt at comfort. “I’m not waiting on anything.”

His lips trailed down, along your jaw, at the corner of your mouth. He pulled back, looking at you expectantly. Are you going to let me?

Your lips parted softly as you kissed him with lips that tasted wet and salty. It was chaste, and sweet. He pulled back and ran his thumb along your cheekbone. “Let me hold you until you fall asleep? Please?”

It was hard to stay mad at Art Donaldson, even when you knew you really should.

Thank you for reading! If you have any requests in the Changeover universe, or otherwise send me an ask :)

[bardhien]

i always wanted to be a tenenbaum, you know.

[masqueradeofatlas]

I will start this message a bit funny. Are you anti of Jatlas?

Maybe I'm writing here, because I want to know that I'm not the only who ship them, and not only them in this whole shipping thing, but did someone ever tell you're sick, you're pedo or you should go to jail? Because as an artist I was called like that so many times, even when I created and published my Jatlas art in the past and even today, because I wrote something wrong to someone reblogged post. People are stiff, or even worse. Some of them really compare fiction to reality? We can be free to do what we want in this world even? lol

Sorry if this ask upset you. I don't want mix you with something bad!

I love these cosplays. Really. And also sorry for my bad english.

Anti?

Does this look anti to you? 🤣 I’m being sarcastic, of course. No, I am not anti JAtlas. Now, is the ship healthy? No. Certainly not. But I will insert something I’ll be including in my JAtlas story called Fatherless Figures;

(Both references to the book & game.)

You might be wondering why I would consider pairing Frank(Atlas)/Jack. Frank, although involved with Jack’s mind conditioning, wasn’t fully involved with Jack during his whole (rather short) childhood. In fact, so much so that’s why Jack called Suchong ‘Papa’. Frank always had the mentality that he was too good to get his feet dirty, which is why he hired Suchong and Tenenbaum in the first place to do the work while he gave the ideas for them (such as the puppy audio and fake family). The last he actually SAW Jack was when he smuggled him to the surface. (And honestly, I don’t feel (HC) that was fully accurate.)

Again, I am not condoning abusive behavior or supporting childlike-romantic relationships. Jack has been seen drinking, smoking, and having the mental capacity to shoot and make choices without mind control. So much so, it is suggested he raised five of the little sisters. Again. A CHILD couldn’t do that. Jack has been physically around for a little time, yes, but their scientific experiments allowed him to grow faster than the average human body. At the end of the day, I am simply a person who really enjoys understanding a villain (not excusing). Not everything is black and white, and people CAN change even with their worst mistakes.

So, yes, technically at a factual standpoint; Jack has been on Earth for a VERY short time, but at a mental/scientific/physical standpoint; he is not a child according to the game/book. But for people that don’t know the game as well or simply disagree. Fine. Let them. But I find the people that do that; often tolerate ships/flaws I would HEAVILY consider questionable both at a fantasy and even a reality standpoint, but again, to each their own.

Also, thank you so much for the compliment, we plan to share more JAtlas content soon!

[starfish458]

welcome to my blog

my name is jess, i'm a teenage girl from scotland

i love music (listening and playing it), especially from the 60s-90s. my favourite musicians of all time are elliott smith, fiona apple, the beatles, the velvet underground and nico- but i love many more.

i also love films! my favourite films are stand by me, the royal tenenbaums, big, the craft, taxi driver, donnie darko, the virgin suicides, amelié, fight club, paris, texas, and trainspotting.

my favourite celebrities are jane birkin, fiona apple, björk, chloë sevigny, mia goth and twiggy.

i like to make music and i like filming as well, i don't know which i want to do really.

feel free to talk to me, don't send me weird things, but i am always looking for new mutuals especially if you're a girl or like the same things as me

[venolfy]

“I will always be there for you”

He looked and acted like a person who had no feelings, was not an angel, but was a devil.

He hurt many people, he was terrible, he could take advantage of anyone.

But there was a part of him deep in his heart that he didn't want to show. The reason why he became like this. Reason unknown to anyone.

No one could understand his character and his decisions. He was the embodiment of evil, but the past sometimes made itself felt. It was apeared in his nightmares and memories. And deep in his heart, hurting him.

Even if he became someone else again, and hid his past again, he couldn't lie to Jack, whom decided to spare him rather than kill when they finally met in a likely fight to the death.

He considered Jack to be close to him, even if he wanted to kill him. At one point he couldn't make up his mind. However, he did what was right for him. He left Jack alive, as well as Rapture, but he couldn't let him escape to the surface and forget who he had truly become and what his true past was.

Jack couldn't take revenge on Frank and listen to Tenenbaum. He knew he would regret this decision. The death of a man he started hated after finding out the whole truth about himself.

Would he really feel better about killing the man who hurted him? The emotions of relief would have left him quickly, and the emotions and great pain of this decision would have tormented him for the rest of his life.

He couldn't set such an example for the little girls he saved and loved him.

Atlas, who didn't want Jack to call him Fontaine, sometimes just Frank, couldn't understand Jack's behavior and the fact that despite all the pain he had caused him (and not only him), he wanted to help him fix his bloody heart and understand his lonely and terrible childhood that made him become this way and decide to become someone completely different. A monster.

Jack trusted him implicitly, and because of his lack of control over Jack, he had his conditioning restored again by someone else than Tenenbaum (who let her escape with girls on the surface). It was conditioning that made him listen to him with those three simple words as a request and even pity.

Even though Jack asked Atlas not to do it, he did it anyway.

Jack, however, didn't show hatred and came to terms with it all, wanting to be with him.

When he was desperate, he asked him for it and he agreed to it. He stayed with him.

Even if he abandoned the Fontaine identity forever, Atlas decided to stay in Rapture and remain Atlas forever. Sometimes being with his real name - Frank. Only for Jack.

But will his past nightmares and many mistakes also be forgotten and forgiven by Jack? He wanted to believe it, but it was hard to forget about the difficult, terrible life in which he had no one at all. However, now someone remained in it.

[tenderlady]

I feel morally obliged, after seeing your tags on this post, to ask you for your Beatles-adjacent casting and re-telling to THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS!

I'll kick things off by proposing John as Eli Cash? "Wild...cat..."

I am, as always, obsessed with your mind and am a big fan of putting Beatles places they were not intended to be. I definitely could see John-as-Eli (writerly, self-constructed, aggressive, insecure), and by that logic I think that probably Paul would be Chas (rigid, overachieving, trying to hold the family together despite not particularly liking any of them) and George would be Richie (wounded, overshadowed, best hair in the family). By default this means that Ringo would be Margot, which, uh.....fascinating.

I think the general conceit of The Royal Tenenbaums, of "getting the band back together" (ba dum tss) because of a family member dying (sorta) could really work, which I suppose would leave Royal as Brian?? Honestly, I couldn't blame him if he wanted to fake a life threatening illness to get all the boys in the same room and to put all their differences aside for five minutes. Also the idea of the Tenenbaums being a family of child prodigies who are all trying, with various degrees of success, to cling to that prestige into adulthood is Very Beatles.

Will be rotating this in my mind for the rest of the day, but I welcome your insights as well, O wise crepesuzette2023...

Other semi-related ramblings under the cut.

As much as I love and am obsessed with this idea, I was actually referring to the copyright boondoggles around the soundtrack when I reblogged that picture. The opening includes a choral cover of Hey Jude, but was originally supposed to be the actual song. I've also heard (although I can't find the original article I read now) there was a semi-illegal showing of it once that had the soundtrack replaced by all Beatles songs. The only information I can find on that now is that the original version of the film included both Hey Jude and the Anthology version of I'm Looking Through You, but George's illness at the time of filming got in the way of securing the rights.

I actually kind of love how difficult it is to secure the rights to Beatles songs, because it often forces filmmakers to make interesting choices to get around it. Another one that I can't find the receipts to prove now but love the idea of is that Hideaki Anno wanted to use Hey Jude to score Third Impact in End of Evangelion. I can kind of see it, but either way we got Komm Susser Tod instead, which is like Hey Jude if it hated you.

[eye-candy-film-enjoyer]

when i came out of the theatre i told my dad: i don’t know, man. the alien didn’t have a motive. why did he do that?

but like then i remember when my grandpa died a few days prior. and it was so strange, cause i knew it would happen some day (i think and talk a lot about death). like aliens are for sure out there. but then when it actually happens. we see aliens or death for the first time. it’s so weird. like the alien doesn’t have a motive, he doesn’t make sense. because it’s so absurdly random. people sometimes just die and sometimes an alien takes a rock from you.

also the way the young people wanted to talk so badly about the alien. and the parents/grownups didn’t let them. it reminds me of the mother in the darjeeling limited, how she told her sons to just move on without helping them in a meaningful way

First and foremost I’m so sorry for your loss

But this is a great take/analysis because I agree that it’s part of the movies theme of grief. Sometimes, bad things happen. What can you do? You live through them. The residents of Asteroid City live through the alien as Jones lives through his grief over Conrad’s death.

But I also think it’s a great point for people who say that Wes Anderson’s work isn’t the same as it was before or it’s detached, because really it’s not. Wes Anderson’s work has always dealt with themes of grief or sadness. Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling, even Grand Budapest. Wes Anderson also has something to say about human nature and how we deal with it.

[cardboard-aliens]

KEN RECEIPTS POST

Collection of articles and interviews regarding Ken Levine. I originally had these on a different post, but it was an addition on someone else's post and I felt bad giving them a notification every time I updated it LOL

(Click the source post for updated links, because gamers will not stop interviewing Ken so I always have more to add.)

Interviews and News Articles:

A look inside BioShock Infinite’s troubled development: talks about constant cuts, shifts, and reboots, how due to poor management there was no playable version of BioShock Infinite a year out from launch, how the team had to pull a year of crunch to finish the game with some people pulling 12 hour shifts (and then they try to make the crunch sound cute by saying married couples that worked there could have lunch and dinner together)

The final years of Irrational Games, according to those who were there: Article that mentions how belligerent Ken was in the work place, to the point 2K had to mandate sensitivity training, and that external firms were brought in to address the issue.

GDC '08: Ken Levine on BioShock's 'stupid story': article where Ken talks about BioShock's development and needing to cut down and rewrite the game's story a year out from launch, very much like how Infinite's development went.

Ken Levine: scripting Elizabeth "is the most complicated thing" in Bioshock Infinite: where they admit the e3 demo was mostly scripted and cutscenes and that there was a lot of ambitious stuff they wanted to do dynamically, but as we can see in the final product, got cut due to the reasons above

BioShock Infinite artist almost resigned over game's depiction of religion: an artist having to threaten to quit to get Ken to rewrite offensive parts of the game, along with the fact it doesn't sound like Ken knows how to write characters lol

Ken Levine and the Infinite Idaho: LONG article about a fanboy busting a nut over Ken, but if you scroll down to the section called "Breaking the arm off" or ctrl + F "Nate Wells" there's a section about how a lot of people quit during Infinite's development, including the Art Director for Infinite (and BioShock, along with being Jack's VA) Nate Wells, after Ken cut hundreds of hours of work on Shantytown because it was "ugly"

Ken Levine Defends BioShock Infinite’s Most Controversial Scene: (this website hates my VPN LOL) Interview where Ken defend's Daisy's death, by comparing her, the black slave, to Andrew Ryan, a white capitalist, while plugging his oppression creates oppressors and saying Elizabeth is the only character in the franchise to break the cycle of abuse

Faith In Rapture – Ken Levine Shares Thoughts On Creating Authentic Diversity: first half of an interview where Ken talks about Tenenbaum's autism saying "Because of her autism, it never cracked through" in regards to her empathy towards the little sisters

Conflict In Utopia - How Relationships Are At The Heart Of Ken Levine's New Game: second half of the interview, where he goes back to abuse is an inescapable cycle and that Elizabeth is the only one to over come the cycle of abuse--and she's the heart of the BioShock franchise which is 🤡💀🤡

We are Ken Levine (@iglevine) and Andres Gonzalez from Irrational Games. Ask Us Anything: AMA to promote BaS- I linked to the exact part where Ken tells people not to make Elizabeth porn because she's his daughter- despite the fact he's advertising a DLC where her boobs are even bigger and she moans over music.

TheBioshockHub Interviews Ken Levine! | Ken Talks Bioshock, His Inspirations & More (2020/2021): Interview with Ken where he say's he didn't know Ayn Rand was politically relevant and that he didn't read Atlas Shrugged until after BioShock was out, forgetting Daisy and her VA's name, and continues to reiterate how the BioShock franchise is supposed to be about how abuse is an inescapable cycle--unless you're his favorite character Elizabeth, and admitting he knew this would be his last part of the franchise and that he wanted to neatly tie the story up (🙄we know how neatly that went)

BioShock Remastered - Director's Commentary: another reference of Ken saying the BioShock franchise is Elizabeth's story, and BaS was about making her the heart of BioShock.

The Next Video Game From BioShock’s Creator Is in Development Hell: Talks about Ken's bad management as he sinks his new game exactly like how he did Infinite, but this time he pushed away everyone who kept that game afloat

Why everyone’s laughing at BioShock’s Ken Levine: Article where Ken said he figured out "how to write good characters" but it was just the basic way everyone writes characters.

Bioshock Infinite's Elizabeth shaped by Ken Levine's experiences: BONKERS article where Ken compares Elizabeth, a fictional character, to a REAL WOMAN he dated who was being abused and then said "but my OC is a better than her."

Thegamebriel Interviews Ken Levine the creator of bioshock: Interview with Ken where he notably compares BioShock 2 to someone "dating your ex girlfriend" and says he didn't want to play the game.

BioShock Infinite: 10 Years Later (ft. Ken Levine): An interview Ken did where he says he was "Upset" about BioShock 2 because he didn't see any games happening in the future of Rapture.

Ken Levine on BioShock: The Spoiler Interview: Interivew where Ken mentions a story idea where the main character was a cult deprogrammer, and talked about the kidnapping those guys would do; referencing "deprograming a lesbian" as an example of that work. He back tracks saying that was not something you would do in the game, but it makes my skin break into hives out that he mentioned it at all.

Looking Back On BioShock With Its Creator, Ken Levine: Another source of Ken only reading The Fountainhead and not Atlas Shrugged, and that he only discovered Rand's work mid development of BioShock. He also states that BioShock is not meant to be a criticism of Objectivism.

BioShock Creator Moved Away From the Franchise Because He Felt ‘Trapped’: Interview where Ken says it was his idea for BioShock to become a "Call of Duty blockbuster" and then immediately jumped ship on the franchise to make Judas. Which just looks like a bootleg BioShock game.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS:

Tweet where, when gay marriage was legalized in America, Ken said "but what about the Lutece twins?".

Ken retweeted an edit of Elizabeth holding a Ken body pillow.

Years later he retweeted edit of the same image but with Austin Wintory editing his face onto Elizabeth's.

Tweet were Ken defended transphobe and anti vaxxer Gina Carano when she got fired from the Mandalorian.

Tweet where Ken defended Elon Musk.

Tweet where Ken says BioShock: Rapture isn't canon because he hasn't read it.

Facebook post where Ken share a photo of a kid flipping him of so his friends would defend him.

Ken Seeing this Verge article that criticized Elizabeth saying:

and then saying on his facebook:

(which is. entirely missing the point. because he made elizabeth brutalized eye candy. her character is entirely defined by men.)

An old post, that I believe is from the scrubbed Irrational games forum (Furthest back I can trace it is to this post), where he explains Elizabeth's fragility and stealth gameplay was not stereotypical and sexist.

Photo of Ken from a print PC Gamer feature called "The New Game Gods" with a PRETTY questionable quote.

Youtube video of Ken and Troy Baker yelling at Courtnee Draper to get "authentic" acting. She's egging them on but it feels SUPER uncomfortable.

[lulusoblue]

give me your domestic gfs elizanor hcs

i have no idea how long this has been here but *cracks knuckles* you got it, anon

First meeting: 6'9" Eleanor Lamb activates Elizabeth's up-to-now dormant lesbianism so hard she forgets how to form words for a few minutes

Fast friends due to trauma interests in common and an interdimensional roadtrip is almost immediate, which slowly builds up to a romantic relationship as they tour the world(s) together

The domestication begins: they build a cottage, one where Eleanor won't need to duck so much, because from their travels they have found most cottages are small and short, but they want their shared living space to be cozycore. They build it in some idyllic woods or a forest clearing, just somewhere somewhat isolated without it being unsettling or creepy.

Elizabeth by this point has a good hang of her powers where she can pull a Howl's Moving Castle on the cottage doors and windows to just stop out anywhere like it's no big deal; streets of Paris? Relaxing country park? The Attack on Eden Prime? okay maybe not that last one

They think of places to revisit based on both location and date, because if they're both from different places in time and space they might as well travel the same way.

They have so many books. So many books. The "small" study has shelves hidden in hammerspace to store all the books. Why do they need all these books?

Out of the two, Eleanor gets hit the hardest when she falls sick. Her immune system has been screwed over after living in a fish bowl on the ocean floor her whole life, so she gets so much as a cold and she is bedridden for DAYS. Elizabeth's Nurse Nightingale mode gets switched on and she cares for/dotes on Eleanor the whole time. The latter complains about being babied but that's the general misery from being sick talking. (And somewhere under all the sniffling and groaning she feels so happy that someone is caring so much about her wellbeing.)

Unless one of them is busy elsewhere or sick, they tend to cook their meals together. Both of them were raised in circumstances where cooking for themselves never really came up, so it's a bit of them learning this life skill together and a bit of not wanting to leave the other to do all the cooking.

Eleanor visits Tenenbaum sometimes, usually to help with the effort of caring for the Little Sisters that her mother created. Locating their families is relatively easy thanks to the Thinker, it's undoing the mental conditioning that takes a while. Elizabeth offers to help where she can, knowing that this is something personal for Eleanor. Instant travel to drop off the treated girls and then leave without a trace makes the burden a lot easier on Tenenbaum as well.

Elizabeth sometimes wants to visit whatever Booker still survives in the aftermath of everything, but she can't bring herself to ever try and speak with him. If she ever checks on him, it's from afar, watching as Anna DeWitt gets to have a life that Elizabeth Comstock never got to have. Eleanor can see something's bothering Elizabeth when she gets back from wherever she's been, and eventually coaxes her into actually talking about her feelings, which are bittersweet at best.

Elizabeth discovers she's a cat person when Eleanor brings home a scruffy mess of a stray cat that kept following her. As soon as Elizabeth sits down to read the cat is on her lap before the book is open, he has claimed this human.

Eleanor discovers she's a dog person when Elizabeth brings home a stray mutt with the biggest "Can I keep him?" eyes. The dog was a her, and Eleanor quickly understood why people did the babytalk voice with their dogs because she adores this disaster dog.

There is a ladder for the shelves in the study, but Elizabeth always pesters Eleanor to lift her up for a book if the latter's around.

Eleanor gets lazy when it comes to grocery shopping and uses the above against Elizabeth so that she'll just tear a fully stocked fridge into their kitchen. Who wins here? Who knows?

Elizabeth loves dressing the both of them up. She loves making them new outfits to go out in, finding accessories on their adventures, teaching Eleanor about makeup and what to wear for what occassion because they can both leave the house and they will look good doing it dangit.

Eleanor loves to tinker with various gadgets and gizmos, and that might be why she's also taken to art, favouring mixed media and unconventional sculpting and metalworks. It was Elizabeth's idea that they build Eleanor her own shed as a space for her creativity, so the latter had full reign to get messy and come back into the cottage looking like a full-on blacksmith.

They know not to mess with the timelines. They know this. But that doesn't stop them from taking their combined works - Eleanor's art pieces and Elizabeth's paintings - and selling them where they could just to see where they would end up and what little instances of inspiration they caused.

Both of them have nightmares, not on the regular but often enough. Tossing and turning, mumbling in their sleep. Worst-case scenarios are one waking up and accidentally/instinctively pulling something into the room via tear or scourching the ceiling/wall with a fireball. They've learned each other's tells for nightmares and how to help calm the other down. Eleanor found that holding Elizabeth and talking to her in her sleep helps - a book she likes, what they could do in the morning, or just plain nonsense. Elizabeth figured out that ocean noise calmed Eleanor down, and changes the world outside their window to an undersea view until Eleanor stills. It's not a perfect system, they would rather be without the nightmares, but it's something that works in the now.

They're in no rush to get married, as neither really feel that it's something they need in their relationship. They know they're not ready for children yet, or if they'll ever want children. They're happy as they are in the present, with a cottage they built together for the life they built together and the cat and the dog they adopted and the art shed and a library hidden inside of a modest study and doors that can take them wherever and whenever they want. They were lost, but they found each other.

Eleanor has met the Luteces exactly once. She does not like them at all. She has promised them that if they ever show up to interrupt the peaceful life she and Elizabeth have for whatever bullshit quantum entanglement riddle they may want to bring with them, she can and WILL find a way to kill them for good. While the Luteces are certain she won't, the chance of third-degree burns and whatever half-finished art projects being thrown at them full-throttle is definitely not appealling.

[all-lars-bars]

Notes for Submas in Rapture so I can empty my brain

Ingo and Emmet with their passion for trains went down to Rapture with their employer Prentice Mill. They both helped blueprint, engineer, and manage the Atlantic Express trains and railways.

When the Express was sold off, the twins went with it, and despite their attempts at contacting their now former employer to convince him otherwise, they never hear from Mill again.

Around the same time Johnny Topside was hoppin around Rapture, the twins, namely Ingo are put under some scrutiny and allegations, I don't really know what but something bad enough that Ingo got sent to Persephone. Because someone's gotta suffer, right.

Anyway, in his brother's absence, Emmet does his damndest to keep the Atlantic Express running in spite of all the splicers and the literal Civil War going on. But eventually he's chased away

Maybe he joins Atlas's revolution bc hey, what does he have to lose at this point, but eh, it doesn't sit right with me. Then again, that could be how Emmet feels about it too. It just generally doesn't settle well with him, but if there's a way to stick it to Andrew Ryam he'll take it.

Back to Ingo, I imagine he meets a similar fate to Topside, Plasmid Test Dummy turned Alpha Series and bonded to a single Little Sister

And that Little Sister is Akari in my mind. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am a sucker for Pokemon Legends Arceus. And also a sucker for Uncle/Papa Ingo dynamics

I have this scene in my mind where Ingo and Akari are out harvesting ADAM when Emmet sees them and watches them for a bit before realizing this Big Daddy has his brother's mannerisms. It even sounds like a train instead of a whale like the rest (which is also 'cause Ingo's too loud for the BD voicebox so he fucked that up).

Anyways, Emmet immediately makes an assumption and tries to go to Ingo. However, he's still a Big Daddy, one bonded to this little girl.

In my mind, Akari is a special case as a Little Sis, as she's full of curiousity which in the ADAM tainted state of mind means she doesn't see a threat until it hits her and Ingo doesn't hurt anything unless Akari tells him to. Neither of them like it when people get too close though, even if they don't see it as a threat

That is to say Emmet gets pretty damn close before he's pulled away by some of his braver allies. All the while begging for his brother.

Neither Akari or Ingo really hear him, not in their states of mind. But they can see his emotion.

"Who was that, Papa?" Ingo lets out a low whistle. "He looked lonely." Another, higher whistle in agreement. "Maybe the next time we see him, we should say hi! I think he'd like that!" He sighs so softly.

I'd like that too

Back to the storyline, I like to think that Ingo and Akari find Jack after he fell through the vents in an escape from Fontaine, helping Tenenbaum and the other little girls bring him to the Sanctuary

Ingo, seeing all the little girls just being little girls has a moment of clarity, some light through the fog of his mind.

He doesn't want Akari to spend the rest of her life in Rapture.

So he leaves her with Tenenbaum and leaves, both the cure and separation causing him to go into a coma.

The last thing he gives Akari is a hat they had found on their travels that she had him try on. It's a bit big on her head, but she'll grow into it.

Then his little girl is cured and rescued.

Until more little girls go missing around the world and Tenenbaum goes back down to rapture.

Over the eight years of surface life, Akari has been raised by her Uncle Jack and Aunt Brigid, always remembering her dear Papa. She shows interest in the scientific field, so when she's old enough she begins working as an apprentice under her Aunt, learning everything the good doctor does and doesn't teach her

Thanks to her "pursuit of science" mindset she can handle large amounts of grotesque scenery and gore. She has even thought about specializing in Forensic Sciences when she gets the chance

Back to the return, although Tenenbaum insists Akari stays behind, the young girl manages to sneak onto the submersible and didn't get caught until they both had to flee from Splicers

After some reprimanding, Akari stayed with Tenenbaum and their rescued little sisters until Eleanor and Delta come along

Watching her Aunt bring an Alpha Series back to life, it gave the girl hope for her dad

So through more mischief and stubborness, she ends up tagging along with Delta and Sinclair (she calls him Gus, much to his disdain) to head to Persephone. Or in her case, simply to Fontaine Futuristics. If there's anywhere a comatose Alpha Series could be, it's there

At some point, they find Emmet, tug him along, ya know. 'Course, Akari hasn't told him who she is, but she doesn't think that's the best thing to share at the moment

Soon enough they get abducted by Lamb, escape, rescue Ingo and Gus, get outta Rapture via lifeboat and dozens of children, and all live happy on the surface

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

I hate falling out of love with a piece of media. I always ask myself did I change or did the media change?

Did I overdo it? Did I gorge myself until I was sick?

Being autistic that's always been a danger. Especially with books. I would find an author I loved and then I would read nothing but that author for a year and then by the time I was done I never wanted to read that author again.

I was burned out on science fiction from doing this for probably 3 years straight, starting in Jr high/middle school.

It absolutely broke my heart from this happened with Anne Rice. After reading almost everything she had ever done including the S&M stuff, I took a long break and when I picked it back up again I simply could not stand to read it anymore. And again I will never know if the writing changed or if I somehow grew up or what.

I must have watched the Royal Tenenbaums 25 times. It has to be one of my favorite movies of all time. That led me to want to see all of us Anderson's movies. But I am watching asteroid City right now and I am not enjoying it at all.

[vvatchword]

Brother Jack

Delta knew right away that he couldn’t afford to stick to the forest behind the house. Eleanor would always find him. She could just appear at his side. He didn’t dare look at her mind straight-on, but he could feel her fury radiating out of the house. It was directed at the others now. She wasn’t thinking about him.

He had to take a chance.

He didn’t run for the woods, but for the road. He kept to a deer path in the trees until he got to the road—he didn’t want to chance the girls seeing him go, only to alert Eleanor—then turned toward town and ran for it.

He could run like hell. The sun beat down on him. He hadn’t gotten very far when he hit another small group of Sisters. These were Tenenbaum’s youngest. They shouted altogether when they saw him, but he didn’t stop. He just plunged past them at a full sprint.

He’d been engineered to carry a suit that weighed a full ton. He’d been given ungodly endurance. Every breath utilized oxygen more efficiently than a normal human being; every ounce of food he ate, more energy. He was a freight train given flesh and he flew.

He could tell that Eleanor was too far to suss him out by about the sixth mile. He only slowed down by the tenth, and by that time, he’d hit town.

He immediately felt like he’d made a mistake. Cars kept stopping in the street to gawk at him. Pedestrians crossed the road when they saw him, sometimes at a jog. He looked in a window at himself and shuddered. He was filthy from working in the yard all day, and he was wearing his old shoes with the holes in the sides. He was so tall, and he didn’t look right. There was a way to look and he didn’t have it anymore.

A black-and-white car marked with a seal drifted to a stop across the street, then pulled a U-turn and rolled up beside him. Delta hunched his shoulders, kept his eyes forward.

“Hey,” a man said. “You. Big guy.”

Delta looked over his shoulder. A man in a dark uniform and sunglasses was stepping out of the car. Another man in dark glasses sat at the steering wheel, holding a radio.

“Yeah, you,” the policeman said. “Come here.”

Delta shook his head.

“You keep walking, and I can arrest you for resistance,” said the cop. His hand rested on his weapon.

Delta hesitated. He wasn’t afraid of the policeman or his gun. For the first time in a long time, he thought about what it would mean to kill somebody. He could cross that gap between them in a second, and he could twist the cop’s head off in the next.

His hands twitched. He turned to face him, drawing upright. At his full height, he stood eight and a half feet tall. To the cop’s credit, he didn’t flinch, but he did unbutton his holster.

“You better not cause trouble,” said the cop. “I put in a call to the state hospital. They’ll pick you up in 30 minutes.”

“There you are,” a man said in a colorless voice. “Hey, thanks officer. I’ve been looking for this guy.”

Delta scanned the street. A big white guy in a Panama hat, long-sleeved shirt, and slacks was strolling up the sidewalk toward him. He wore aviator glasses. And hell, he was a lot bigger than most people. Delta’s eyes locked on him, wondering.

“This guy’s yours?” asked the cop. “I don’t recognize you. Are you from out of town?”

“Yep,” said the stranger.

Delta brought his hands up and started signing, hoping against hope. He didn’t dare make sounds. Making sounds would make it worse.

“Who are you?” he asked.

To his shock, the big guy signed back.

“A friend,” he said. “Hold still. Don’t scare the guy.”

“Okay.”

The cop relaxed and buttoned his gun. “Oh, I see. Deaf mute?”

“Just mute.” The guy’s voice was rough and grumbly like from cigarettes. “Don’t worry, his bark is worse than his bite.” He turned to Delta. A white man, probably. Looked old, perhaps in his sixties. “Come here, will you, buddy? You’re scaring the people out here.”

He also signed at him: “Don’t worry. We have to get you off the street.”

“What do you want?” Delta asked.

“I’ll tell you once I deal with the fuzz.”

“What’s he saying?” the cop said.

“That he got lost,” said the stranger. “He wondered where I’d gotten to.”

“Okay, okay. Just get that guy off the street,” the cop said, sliding back into the car. “He’s scaring people.”

With that, the stranger walked up to him—Delta had backed up under the awning of a sub shop—and held out his hand. There was a gap between cuff and arm. It was an old, wrinkled arm, liver spots on the hands. But once this close, Delta could see the faint traces of Plasmid scarring across the knuckles, down the arm, across the palms, like jags of lightning.

Delta rolled his arm and looked down. He had the same scarring, faint and shining in the sun. Suddenly he felt cold.

Delta shook his head “no.”

“Please go away,” he signed. “I don’t need help.”

“You’re going to get shot without me. Trust me.” The stranger set a hand on his wrist. His palm was rough.

“You’re from there,” Delta signed.

“Same as you,” the stranger signed back. “Come on. I’ve got a place for you to stay.”

“I already have a place,” Delta said.

“So why did you leave it?” asked the stranger, taking him by the elbow. He wasn’t signing anymore, but speaking aloud.

Delta found himself following. What else could he do? The idea of going back to the farmhouse closed his throat. He didn’t want to see Eleanor. He didn’t want to see anyone. He wanted to disappear.

It was astonishing for him to realize that he hadn’t suffered from an intrusive memory once since fleeing the house. He held himself a little straighter. He had a clearer head than he could remember since… well, the beginning. Thoughts seemed to be coming to him faster. That was a good sign, right?

“So where were you going?” asked the stranger. He directed him down a quiet side street. Delta followed.

“I don’t know.”

“A guy like you stands out. You aren’t safe here. Maybe you’d be safe in a big city. Maybe.” The stranger looked up at him, unsmiling. “There are people looking for you and your girls, you know. Powerful people.”

Delta stared down, eyes wide.

“Who?” he asked. “Why?”

“Can you imagine a whole military filled with people like you?” asked the man. “Big, powerful, always following orders?”

Delta shuddered. “But that would hurt them.”

“They don’t care.” The man smiled grimly. “Look, I need something from Dr. Tenenbaum.”

With that, the man whistled. From a side street, two skinny guys in bib overalls came running, both holding paper bags filled with groceries. They wore faded ballcaps and shoes that were just a little too big. Delta’s first thought was that they were mechanics.

They pattered up on either side, staring up unabashedly into Delta’s face, and the smell of them hit him like a brick. He stared back in shock. These weren’t guys—these were Sisters. There was the unnatural height, the unnatural slenderness, the strange eyes. Both were dark-skinned—one probably had parents from India; the other’s might have been from Mexico. They were cured Sisters, too. No fingers picked at his thoughts.

“Tell me,” said the stranger. “How close is too close for your Sister?”

“Six, maybe seven miles,” Delta said. “I need to get out of town.”

He couldn’t believe how easily it came out of his hands. The idea of leaving Eleanor filled him with an overwhelming relief.

“You want to leave your Sister?” asked one of the girls. Her eyes were huge.

“Yes.” Delta glanced aside into a storefront. “She…”

He couldn’t think of what to say. She told his secret to everybody? She wouldn’t listen to him when he said no? She didn’t care about his feelings? It all sounded so silly when he thought about it.

“Don’t know much about Alpha series,” said the stranger. “I never met one. But I heard they each only had one Sister. I’m guessing your Sister is the, ah… possessive type?”

It felt horrible to think it. Possessive—Eleanor, possessive. Admitting to it felt like name-calling, so Delta said nothing. He looked away.

“We have to assume she’s headed this way,” said the stranger. “So we do one of two things: we jump on a train or we get on a bus. What do you feel like doing, Mr. B?”

Delta rubbed his arms. “What’s fastest?”

“John Barton, there you are,” a familiar voice drawled out. “Now I know you aren’t heading off somewhere with strangers.”

Delta whirled. So did the stranger and the Sisters. Sinclair leaned out the window of his car, rolling a cigarette in his mouth.

“Augustus Sinclair,” said the stranger in a wondering voice. “I knew you were around here.”

“Who’s he?” asked one of the girls, signing.

“Oh, I’m just the friend of this big lug here,” said Sinclair, jerking his chin up at Delta. “Come on, big hoss. You’re coming back with me.”

Delta shook his head, backing into the wall.

Sinclair laughed.

“Some things never change,” he said. “Chief, what on Earth could possess you to come all the way out here? Those girls back home called me cryin’ up a storm.”

Sinclair was talking like they hadn’t kissed at all! Delta burned. Could no one hear him? Would no one take him seriously at all? Was he cursed to be shunted from one person to another for the rest of eternity?

“Looks like the big guy’s made up his mind,” said the stranger. “Gotta say I understand the sentiment.”

“I must admit, I’m at a bit of a loss,” said Sinclair, swinging his door open. “You know who I am, but I haven’t got a clue about you.” He pushed himself upright, balanced on the car. “Do give me the pleasure of your introduction.”

“Oh, we’ve never met.” The man took off his glasses and his hat and shook his hair out. He was gray-headed, had a short, scruffy beard. When he raised his head, he smiled. His irises glowed faintly gold. “The name is Jack Wynand. You knew my father.”

Sinclair’s smile never broke. He laughed and leaned back against his car.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “Must say, never thought I’d see you in the flesh. Tell me, what use do you have for an old Alpha model, anyway?”

Delta bristled. Sinclair wasn’t looking at him. Sinclair’s eyes were locked on Jack’s.

Jack bent his head. “It’s less about him and more about Tenenbaum,” he said. “If she can revert Big Daddies…”

“Now how’d you figure that out?” Sinclair asked.

“…then she can revert me.” Jack bent his head. “I want ADAM stripped from me. I don’t care what it does.”

The Sisters shrank at his sides, faces full of misgiving.

“With your luck, it’d shrink you to a fetus,” said Sinclair.

“Then that’s what I want,” Jack said.

“Well, son, you’re too late,” Sinclair said. “No ADAM left. Not a drop. Takes gallons for something like that, from what I understand.”

“And you?” asked Jack.

“Me?” Sinclair asked.

A car stopped behind Sinclair’s, honked, and then slowly pulled around them. Sinclair waved at them, gave them an apologetic grimace, turned back to Jack.

Jack spoke again. “So they saved you, and they saved Dr. Porter, but they didn’t save this man here.” Jack jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

Delta glanced down at the thumb, then at Sinclair. Sinclair didn’t skip a beat. His brows rose and he gave Jack a brilliant smile.

“I see you’ve done your homework!” he said.

“Answer me,” said Jack. “Why did they save one of the biggest sharks of Rapture before one of his victims?”

Sinclair’s smile was finally cooling. “Well, son, if you don’t know, then I don’t think you ought to.”

Delta felt the flicker at the edge of his mind a second too late.

The air shuddered. There was a tearing, popping sound. Suddenly Eleanor was directly behind him, pressed up against his back. Delta closed his eyes, shoulders sinking. The two Sisters whirled to face her, mouths agape. Jack turned slowly, fingers flexing. He dropped his cigarette. It fell from his fingers like he’d forgotten it.

“Oh, Eleanor,” said Sinclair. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. Your boy’s made a hell of a friend today.”

Big Sisters slowly stepped out of the alleys on either side of them, eyes locked on Jack. They were wearing slacks and jeans and what Tenenbaum called their “garden shoes.” Their fingers were curled into claws. There was a heaviness in the air that could not be explained by the weather.

“I think you better get moving, son,” said Sinclair, leaning back against the car.

“I’m going with him,” Delta signed.

Finally, a reaction. One of the Sisters gasped. Eleanor’s hand tightened on his wrist. Sinclair went white.

“Honey, you don’t want to do that,” he said.

“Nobody cares what I want,” Delta said.

“That’s not true!” Eleanor said. The words poured out of her so fast that at first they weren’t comprehensible.

“There are only two people here who know what it’s like to be us,” Jack said softly. His fingers were twitching, twitching, twitching. “Don’t you agree, Subject Delta?”

“I don’t want to fight,” Delta said quickly. “I just want to leave. I’ll go anywhere.”

“Daddy!” Eleanor said. “Don’t!”

Her voice was panicky. Delta savored it—until she pushed into his mind. She was simply there, effortlessly, and she could see everything, and she was crying, but he couldn’t push her out, he wasn’t equipped to push her out, they’d never made him as anything other than a gun she summoned at a whim.

He roared and twisted out of her grip. The Sisters all jumped, Sinclair twitched, and even Jack sprang back. Delta thrilled to it. Yes, jump! Good old Subject Delta! Good old chief! He’ll do anything you ask for a smile and a pat on the back!

“You all think I’m a child!” Delta said. “You all think I’m an idiot!”

“I don’t think that at all!” Eleanor said.

“Stop telling me what to do!” Delta said. “I’m tired!”

“Eleanor,” Sinclair said. “Maybe I should take over.”

She whirled on him, her mouth opening and shutting. Sinclair was white, and he was no longer smiling. His eyes locked on Delta’s.

“You know what you need, honey?” he asked. He held up a hand. “You need out of this sun.” He extended a finger. “You need a sit.” A second finger rose. “You need a cold drink.” A third finger. “And more than that, you need to get out of this little town before the sheriff shows up. Come on. I’ll take you to my place.”

Eleanor shook her head over and over, but the Sisters were moving in. One grabbed her arm. The others kept a healthy distance from Jack and his Sisters, both of whom had set their bags of groceries against the wall and shoved their hands into their pockets.

Jack hadn’t moved at all. He had watched. He had listened. His eyes were unnaturally bright.

“Delta,” he said, “if you come with me, I promise I’ll treat you like a person deserves.”

Eleanor sputtered, frozen between taking complete control of his body—forcing him back to the house—and letting go. Jack waited, only watching, only listening. Who knew what he wanted? But Delta was staring at Sinclair, swaying in place like one hypnotized.

Suddenly all of his memories seemed so foolish. How long ago had they been, anyway? Sinclair probably had a new boyfriend already. He probably got over Delta back when he died the first time. He’d locked him up in a room. What kind of guy locked people up in rooms?

“Are you going to lock me up?” Delta asked.

Now it was Sinclair’s turn to flinch. His eyes were wet.

“Oh, John,” he said.

He said it in such a defeated, quiet way.

Delta sighed. He sank down.

“I’m going with Sinclair,” he said. “Thanks, Jack.”

The Sisters relaxed. Eleanor’s mind grudgingly lifted from his. She rubbed her arm across her face.

Jack glanced up at him. “You’re making a mistake,” he said.

“I know,” Delta said, and stepped into the street.

UPRISING: BLACK SCRAPBOOK HUB

[thatdude-noah]

I've been trying to think about watching movies (they are very frustrating for many reasons for me) do you have any suggestions?

i absolutely do oh my god

(this may become a long post and i apologize about that but i have watched so many movies and i love talking about movies)

my favorite movies are into the spiderverse and knives out, but those are admittedly very basic and seen by most people. but they're always worth a rewatch!

i've found that when i'm struggling to get into a movie but i still want to watch one, i really enjoy some silly goofy movies. varying a bit in genre but all lighthearted stuff. i'm a big fan of scott pilgrim vs the world, 10 things i hate about you, the lego batman movie, teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem, the unbearable weight of massive talent. and bottoms is one of the funniest movies i've watched in theaters and i highly recommend it.

for more serious stuff and stuff that i just really enjoy and find really captivating. i recently watched whiplash which is an absolute masterpiece. dead poets society is beautiful but it is heartbreaking. i love falsettos because im a big musical fan. i finally watched blackkklansman and i loved it so much. scream is a classic and such a good horror movie. the boys in the band is based off of a play so i really enjoyed it. i also highly recommend watching older queer movies and queer content whenever you can find it!

some final stragglers and just. movies i really enjoy and want to talk about. igby goes down is so good and i love watching it. i watched little miss sunshine as a kid and still love it. howl's moving castle is an anime that's really beautiful. i've only watched before sunrise, but i've heard great things about the before trilogy and am excited to finish it.

and also i will always recommend a wes anderson movie. i am such a big wes anderson fan. i love all wes anderson movies. fantastic mr fox, isle of dogs, the royal tenenbaums, and the darjeeling limited are all wes anderson movies i've recently rewatched. he just makes beautiful movies and i love them.

this is so much and i apologize for that so like. my simple and most recommended movies would be scott pilgrim vs the world, whiplash, igby goes down, and literally any wes anderson movie. all of those movies are very different genres so hopefully that gives some variety based on what you like :)

[venolfy]

„I want to hear our baby!”

I wouldn't have created any ideas for my own fics or arts if it wasn't for what I read on Ao3! ^_^

Click and click

If you are willing to read then, I advise you to click on the first link. Although the author of the fic in the second link says it's a sequel, he/she/they also writes to do that so.

I don't mind a lot of things, and I do for most, but mpreg is something I really love, and I find it cute, thinking I can make a family-loving for my ships.

I will not talk about not writing something offensive, but let's realize that there is always people who does not like something and likes to express their opinions in this way.

I've had many situations like this.

Sometimes I wonder why people don't want to let other people enjoy what they really like. Is it hard to skip something you don't like and do the things you love? I think so.

Well, that's a question that everyone has to answer for themselves.

---

Story:

The development of genetics was fast and amazing. Many plasmids have come onto the market. They enjoyed great popularity.

This city depended on them and it was hard to bring everything back to normal, but they managed to save at least most of the people and most of the city, which was to become a dark utopia in the near future. Surprisingly, everything has returned to normal and Rapture has regained what it had recently lost in the depths.

Even if everything ended good, Jack accepted his fate and the cruel truth, he stayed here, taking care of five girls who practically never had to treat him like a father, and yet they did.

Jack had always treated them as his children, even if the truth was that he had never had one of his own before, and Fontaine was destroying him with his awful words. He had no one before.

The truth was painful, but the evil was gone. He fought to keep Fontaine from coming back to him in his nightmares.

He wasn't alone with it. He didn't fought alone against Fontaine. Tenenbaum was with him, but more importantly his companion, a friend who was no longer him - Atlas.

This surprised him. He not only gained a family, but also a friend who became even closer to him than before.

He never thought about love, about his own children, about the life he had, but living in Rapture made him experience it. He just hadn't felt the need for it before.

And when he got it, he wanted it. He gained love, he loved Atlas and he couldn't help but show it.

He'd gotten little sisters before, they might not have been his children, but that's how he treated them. Everyone treated each other like family.

When new plasmids came onto the market, it was one, this special one, which interested Atlas so much.

It was possible to get used to the new technology that had changed their lives so early. Despite the family they had, Atlas wanted to enlarge it. Despite being adopted, he dreamed of having children in a different way. Thanks to the miracle of genetics.

Maybe at the beginning it wasn't as easy as it might seem, and Jack wasn't sure about it and he was afraid, but after a long time he realized that he wanted to have children just like Atlas wanted it from the beginning.

They looked forward to this special day, but Atlas couldn't wait. Also to be able to hear that particular sound from Jack's belly.

Jack was happy about that, but also that Atlas was trying to be the perfect parent for their girls and future baby.

[tomcat-reusables]

Some disjointed thoughts on the bathroom scene/needle in the hay scene from The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

ok first up, major tw for suicide/suicide attempt, and spoiler for The Royal Tenenbaums (do I need to spoiler warning for a movie from 20+ years ago, I don't know). If you haven't seen the Royal Tenenbaums go watch it and come back to this, hell, watch it twice if you want.

I geniunely believe the bathroom scene from The Royal Tenenbaums is one of the most interesting and important scenes in Wes Anderson's entire portfolio. It might seem insigificant if you watch his movies from oldest to newest, but if you go backwards you might notice some stuff. A lot of the darker moments of his films are still coated in a layer of whimsy and a lot of his typical aestheticism, especially in his newer stuff. Not that that's a criticism at all. But when you look at the bathroom scene it has this unique rawness to it that I've never really seen anywhere else in all his movies. It feels like all of the layers that his characters tend to sheild their emotions with have suddenly and viscerally been ripped away. And the visuals of this scene contribute to it too, it's two things not often seen in Wes Anderson movies: very saturated and somewhat dark/has dimmer lighting. The bathroom feels so out of place in a way that really makes you sit up and go "oh shit, something's happening", the music too, not only does the song choice never fail to make me sob, but the way it stays quiet as Richie stares into the camera and cuts his hair off, and at the final moment of tentsion as his life flashes infront of his eyes the background music slowly grows louder, climaxing as he bleeds onto the tiles before finally stopping abruptly.

The scene itself is truly one of the best scenes Wes Anderson has under his belt too, despite bringing me closer to tears every single time I happen to watch it. Something that'll always stick in my mind is the exact moment Richie Tenenbaum takes off his glasses, the first time in almost the whole film where we properly see his eyes. Richie is a character that has been hiding, both literally seperating himself on humanity by living on a boat for the last four years before the beginning of the film, but also mentally. He's clearly bottling up all his emotions and problems throughout the film (symbolised by the sunglasses, long hair, beard, even margot's line "stand up straight, let me get a look at you") until he cracks under the weight of them and we get, well, the bathroom scene. Seeing his eyes not only, as the saying goes, gives us a window into his soul, but also truly communicates the amount of pain he's in. Pain that's beyond margot, beyond Royal's betrayal of him, and deep within himself.

Richie never finishes shaving, and in my opinion it's a nod to the fact that he himself as a person is unfinished, unresolved, incomplete. Even his plans lay incomplete with the death that would have met him if he wasn't found by Dudley. His only line in the scene is simply "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow" unfinished because well, he tries to that day. Richie to me is one of the most interesting characters in the movie, if not the most. I didn't think that on my first watch-through, but as I watched the movie again and again it quickly became my opinion. He's someone who unlike Chas and Margot is holding onto an idealised version of his childhood, still mentally stuck there and unwilling to believe Royal as a bad person because of the blurred vision of him that he saw as a kid. His concept of human connection is as equally broken as Margots but instead of filling the empty abyss left by it with unpassionate affairs such as her, he cuts himself off from society, and once he's ripped away from and pulled back into the very family he always thought of as a perfect world he breaks just a little more.

I find his relationship with Margot very interesting too, as I don't belive it's simply a case of "these two flawed people are doing something socially unacceptable because they're flawed". Infact, from Richie's point of view I don't even believe it's romantic. Margot and Richie clearly became codependent on eachother from a very young age due to the childhood they were put through by Royal and to a lesser extent Etheline, and as they grew into emotionally broken people with twisted ideas of love and connection they mistook their relationship for romantic love instead of a platonic relationshop, because that's the only way they know to express a close platonic relationship. Being reuinited with Margot is the only thing keeping Richie together throughout the film and when he learns of all her infidelity he unravels immediately something that was hinted at, began to slip through when Richie puts his hand through the bird cage after Raleigh shares with him his suspicions of margot cheating, he's lost his last coping mechanism in other words.

And so we return again to the bathroom scene, hopefully this helped whoever may be reading it appreciate such a tragic scene a little more, or maybe it just made it sadder, I'm not sure. Stay safe out there and remember that help is always available and things will get better.